A large group of dinosaur tracks was found in this place!

Or there may be "new dinosaurs" unknown to humans

  Lincheng Town, Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province

  Found the fossils of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group!

  First excavation

  There are more than 240 fossils of dinosaur footprints!

  This is the largest area ever discovered in China

  The most diverse Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group,

  It is also the first record of dinosaur activity in Fujian Province.

  On the 12th,

  A number of Chinese paleontological fossil experts

  The news was disclosed at a press conference.

More than 240 dinosaur footprints have been cleared

Shows the characteristics of large area and high diversity

  According to Wang Lixia, full-time deputy director of the Office of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee, Peng Guangzhao, member of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee and former curator of the Sichuan Zigong Dinosaur Museum, and Li Daqingsan, member of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee and director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Gansu Agricultural University A team of experts determined that the fossil of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group discovered in Lincheng Town, Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province on November 7, 2020.

Chronological chart of the age of dinosaurs.

Image source: "The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs" by Steve Brussart

  According to preliminary surveys, the area of ​​fossil origin in Shanghang is about 1,600 square meters, and more than 240 dinosaur footprints have been cleared, showing the characteristics of larger area, higher diversity, and better preservation.

The fossils of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group discovered in Shanghang County are being excavated at the site.

Picture source: Shanghang County Party Committee Propaganda Department

  Experts believe that this discovery is of great value for studying the paleoenvironment, paleogeography, paleo-ecology of China in the Late Cretaceous period, and the distribution and evolution of dinosaur fauna during that period.

Aerial view of footprint points.

Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department of Shanghang County Party Committee

At least eight types of tracers were found

Or there may be "new dinosaurs" unknown to humans

  What dinosaur do these footprints belong to?

  "This discovery is very shocking and very important." Xing Lida, an associate professor of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), produced many photos of dinosaur footprint fossils in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency.

He said that there were at least eight herbivorous sauropods, large, medium and small ornithopods, carnivorous large three-toed theropods, two-toed Deinonychus, and small theropods in Shanghang. Kind of tracer (dinosaur).

"There may be new genera and species found in the eight major categories of dinosaurs."

Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group fossils found in Shanghang County.

Photo by Lin Sigan

  Xing Lida said that dinosaur footprints are its own classification system. Different types of dinosaurs have very different foot bone structures. These unique characteristics will be reflected in the shape of the footprints, so we can judge the traced dinosaurs from this. Is it carnivorous or herbivorous?

  According to the outline and shape of dinosaur footprints, theropods, sauropods, small ornithopods, Iguanodon-hasrosaus, stegosaurus, ankylosaurus, and ceratosaurus can also be distinguished.

Carnivorous theropod footprint.

Photo courtesy of Xing Lida team

Hadrosaurus footprints.

Photo courtesy of Xing Lida team

The first theropod dinosaur footprint discovered.

Photo courtesy of Xing Lida team

  The outline and shape of dinosaur footprints can be distinguished:

  The carnivorous theropods are three-toed and have very sharp claw marks;

  Deinonychus among theropods is two-toed, and the footprints of sauropods are composed of front and back footprints, which are like large round pits. Some of the back footprints have about three thick claw marks;

  The back footprint of hadrosaurs' footprints is three-toed, with toes shaped like clover leaves, and claw marks are very thick and blunt.

  In Xing Lida’s view, this large dinosaur footprint group also has important global comparative significance. "It can be compared with the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints in the United States or other countries and regions, to study the diversity and life of dinosaur species at the end of dinosaurs. Habits, palaeobehaviour, etc."

  According to experts, in Shanghang, Fujian, small dinosaurs ranging from one to two meters to nine meters to ten meters were found. "The top of the food chain is a large carnivorous dinosaur with a footprint of about 30 or 40 cm."

  Xing Lida conjectured, “It might be a lakeside or a riverside at that time. Dinosaurs lived here periodically, and the number might be more than 240.”

  He was particularly impressed by the fact that one of the protagonists of the "Jurassic Park" movie Deinonychus, such as Deinonychus, Velociraptor, Utahraptor, etc., because daily activities raise the second toe high , To prevent the sharp claws from being worn by the ground, so the footprint is very recognizable, "a string of two-toed footprints".

More than 240 dinosaur footprint fossils were excavated for the first time.

Picture source: Shanghang County Party Committee Propaganda Department

  According to Xing Lida, Deinonychus footprints are found in East Asia and the United States, and their size is generally relatively small. In 2017, Chinese paleontologists discovered Deinonychus footprints in Nanxiong, Guangdong, with a footprint of 20 to 30 cm. The academic community believes that southern China may be possible. There existed large Deinonychus in the late Cretaceous, and found a series of "very beautiful, very large, nearly 40 cm footprints" in Shanghang, which confirmed the academic conjecture.

  "This is the first time China has discovered it, and it is also the largest Deinonychus footprint found in China, and possibly the world," he said.

Uncover the story behind the fossils of the dinosaur footprints in Shanghang, Fujian

  However, a large number of dinosaur fossils have been discovered in Jiangxi and Guangdong, bordering Fujian. Why did Fujian take the veil of "dinosaurs" so late?

  The scientific expedition was initiated by the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum of Fujian Province and formed a joint expedition team with China University of Geosciences (Beijing).

A member of the expedition team is inspecting the scene.

Photo by Lin Sigan

Site excavation map.

Photo by Lin Sigan

  Niu Kecheng, executive curator of Fujian Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, said frankly that the preservation of dinosaur fossils requires continuous continental sedimentary rocks.

The eastern part of Fujian Province was covered by a large number of volcanic rocks due to the Yanshan Movement. Only western and northern Fujian had a small amount of Late Cretaceous red beds, and they were scattered and fragmented among a large number of fault zones in Southeast China during the Cretaceous, making it difficult to find dinosaur fossils. Big.

The fossils of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group discovered in Shanghang County are being excavated at the site.

Picture source: Shanghang County Party Committee Propaganda Department

Review the dinosaur footprint discovery process

  Xing Lida still couldn't hide his excitement when reviewing the dinosaur footprints to a reporter from China News Agency.

On the morning of November 7, 2020, the expedition team surveyed the red beds around Shanghang County and found no valuable clues.

In the afternoon, the two leaders of the expedition team, Niu Kecheng and Xing Lida, discussed that the team members were tired in the morning. It is better to look for some outcrops in the construction site near Shanghang County in the afternoon to see the lithology.

The expedition team is studying the footprints of dinosaurs.

Photo courtesy of Xing Lida team

  At 16:00 that day, the expedition member Miao Shengshui drove and found a bare hillside on the side of Longxiang Avenue Experimental Middle School. The large area of ​​sandstone was very eye-catching.

Niu Kecheng joked: "This is the slope, this slope is flat and the working surface is large, if we find it will be enough for us to do a while."

  Niu Kecheng climbed the slope first, and found some scattered mud cracks, wave marks and insect traces on the slope.

Xing Lida took the student team to observe some insect traces on the collapsed rocks under the slope, and was surprised by the exquisite geological ruins.

At this time, everyone is aware that all the signs here indicate that there is a greater possibility of dinosaur footprints.

The trail left by the dinosaurs is very clear.

Photo courtesy of Xing Lida team

  As soon as Xing Lida climbed the hillside, he saw a well-preserved and clear three-toed footprint at the foot of Niu Kecheng and a tree planting pit dug by the locals, with very obvious claw marks at the end of the footprint. , Must be left by the animal, and screamed on the spot: "Dinosaur footprint! This must be a dinosaur footprint!".

  The expedition team was very excited. After further cleaning the level where the fossils were located, ten, dozens, and hundreds of footprints were gradually discovered, which opened the prelude to the great discovery of the Shanghang dinosaur footprint group.

  "The search for fossils is sometimes like finding a needle in a haystack. Each milestone discovery may be years or even decades of obscurity accumulation." Niu Kecheng said.

The site is being excavated.

Picture source: Shanghang County Party Committee Propaganda Department

  "Fujian dinosaur fossil resources have great potential." Peng Guangzhao, a member of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee, said that the Mesozoic strata where dinosaurs lived in Fujian are exposed very extensively, especially in Shanghang, Liancheng, Wuping, Fujian provinces adjacent to Jiangxi and Guangdong. The basins of Zhangping and Yong'an are similar to the sedimentary environment of Ganzhou in Jiangxi and Heyuan in Guangdong where a large number of dinosaur bones and dinosaur egg fossils have been discovered.

  Dinosaur footprints and dinosaur bone fossils were formed under different dinosaur properties and different buried environments. Therefore, in general, dinosaur footprints and dinosaur bone fossils will not appear at the same time in a relatively small area in the same formation. It is possible to find both in relatively large areas (such as the Shanghang Basin), different sedimentary environments, and different geological ages.

Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group fossils found in Shanghang County.

Photo by Lin Sigan

  Peng Guangzhao said: "This is very understandable. Since there are dinosaurs living in this area, they may be preserved as fossils somewhere after they die. This is in other dinosaur fossil producing areas such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Shandong. This is the case in Jiangxi, Guangdong, etc."

  "I believe that more and more dinosaur fossils will be discovered in Fujian in the future, not only dinosaur footprints, but also dinosaur bones and even dinosaur egg fossils." Peng Guangzhao said.

Take corresponding protective measures locally

  Wen Yong, director of the Natural Resources Bureau of Longyan City, said that local officials have installed 24-hour monitoring equipment at the footprint group site and adopted emergency protection measures to avoid rock loss and weathering on the footprint group site.

Scenery of Shanghang.

Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department of Shanghang County Party Committee

  Luo Jian, deputy secretary of the Shanghang County Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, told reporters that a work organization for the protection of dinosaur footprints in Shanghang County will be established locally; scientific research experts on dinosaur footprints will be hired to conduct paleontological fossil resource surveys; permanent protection facilities such as the dinosaur museum will be built, Build a research platform for the protection of Shanghang International Dinosaur Footprints.

Data map: Longyan Yongding Chuxi Tulou Group.

Photo courtesy of Fujian Cultural Tourism Department

Data map: National Natural Heritage and National Geopark Liancheng Guanzhe Mountain.

Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of Longyan Municipal Party Committee

  Luo Jian said that the local area will also build a natural history museum based on the existing museums and genealogy halls of the Hakka Yuan Cultural Center.

  Author: Lin Chun Yan Zhang Yi Ming Wang dry Jinchuanlinsi